Starting an Internal Network from Scratch?

[Okla]

As we were experiencing GPU hardware issues with our early-2011 MacBook Pro (MBP) , we've been waiting for a replacement MBP. We now have a mid-2015 MBP 15 and, with the superior data transfer options it gives us, we're trying to set up an internal network that will allow us to enjoy our A/V gear, which includes a "digital jukebox" for playing our music collection...but I digress.

With the new [to us] MBP 15, we received a Linksys Velop Setup 52E device that I'm trying to figure out. I haven't used a wireless router in quite some time now, but my reading on the Linksys site is telling me that these Velop "nodes" are used to enhance devices like cable modems or wireless routers, but I'm not clear on this.

Needles to say, if the Velop device will act as wireless router -- on its own -- I can use it in conjunction with a network switch to connect, via WiFi, to the new MBP 15...so I guess the question is whether or not these Velop devices can take the place of a wireless router or, as I suspect, they are used with a wireless router. By the way, we have no high-speed internet access here, so this small network will be a totally internal LAN.

Thanks very much for your time

 

[Okla]

As we were experiencing GPU hardware issues with our early-2011 MacBook Pro (MBP) , we've been waiting for a replacement MBP. We now have a mid-2015 MBP 15 and, with the superior data transfer options it gives us, we're trying to set up an internal network that will allow us to enjoy our A/V gear, which includes a "digital jukebox" for playing our music collection...but I digress.

With the new [to us] MBP 15, we received a Linksys Velop Setup 52E device that I'm trying to figure out. I haven't used a wireless router in quite some time now, but my reading on the Linksys site is telling me that these Velop "nodes" are used to enhance devices like cable modems or wireless routers, but I'm not clear on this.

Needles to say, if the Velop device will act as wireless router -- on its own -- I can use it in conjunction with a network switch to connect, via WiFi, to the new MBP 15...so I guess the question is whether or not these Velop devices can take the place of a wireless router or, as I suspect, they are used with a wireless router. By the way, we have no high-speed internet access here, so this small network will be a totally internal LAN.

Thanks very much for your time

After much trial and error, this issue was eventually resolved. It involved some workarounds related to the Linksys setup and configuration utility -- which seems bound and determined to put customers on the internet -- but I digress... The answer is, YES, you can use a Linksys "Velop" mesh whole home Wi-Fi device as wireless router, but it isn't simple. In our case, it came with our newer MBP 15 and, given its initial cost and long-range signal capability, it was worth working on [to us]. By the way, it can also be used with a purpose-built wireless router to extend your Wi-Fi capabilities, but that's another story for another thread.